Dancer, choreographer, conductor Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) was one of the most celebrated dancers of the 20th century.

Born like a true nomad on board of the Transibirian train near Irkutsk in Russia, he started to dance only in 1955 due to the disruption of Soviet cultural life caused by World War II. His breakthrough success arrived in 1961, in Paris, as first ballerino of the Kirov Ballet which was performing in Paris for the first time. Threatened by the KGB, Nureyev decided to remain in Paris and continued dancing on the most prestigious stages of London and Paris.

He became friends with Andy Warhol, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Mick Jagger amongst others, and loved to travel especially in Italy. You could find him oftenin Positano, where he bought the beautiful villa on the Galli island from another famous Russian dancer, Massine.

Lover of the sophisticated worldliness of Positano, Nureyev often spend his evenings at glamourous dinner parties in Positano. He always returned home on his island after having travelled to perform for long periods at a time. His villa was furnished with opulent oriental taste: Turkish Azuleios, Persian carpets, Anatolian bronzes, ancient trunks and colorful Paisley scarves. The most resplendent room of the entire house was the ballroom, set up in the Saracen tower. It was entirely covered with large mirrors along the walls surrounded with ballet bars and parquet in red pine, which he used frequently for exercise and dancing.